Once upon a time in China there lived a certain king who had three
daughters. The fairest and best of these was Kwan-yin, the youngest.
The old king was justly proud of this daughter, for of all the women who
had ever lived in the palace she was by far the most attractive. It did
not take him long, therefore, to decide that she should be the heir to
his throne, and her husband ruler of his kingdom. But, strange to say,
Kwan-yin was not pleased at this good fortune. She cared little for the
pomp and splendour of court life. She foresaw no pleasure for herself in
ruling as a queen, but even feared that in so high a station she might
feel out of place and unhappy.
Every day she went to her room to read and study. As a result of this
daily labour she soon went far beyond her sisters along the paths of
knowledge, and her name was known in the farthest corner of the kingdom
as "Kwan-yin, the wise princess." Besides being very fond of books,
Kwan-yin was thoughtful of her friends. She was careful about her
behaviour both in public and in private. Her warm heart was open at all
times to the cries of those in trouble. She was kind to the poor and
suffering. She won the love of the lower classes, and was to them a sort
of goddess to whom they could appeal whenever they were hungry and in
need. Some people even believed that she was a fairy who had come to
earth from her home within the Western Heaven, while others said that
once, long years before, she had lived in the world as a prince instead
of a princess. However this may be, one thing is certain--Kwan-yin was
pure and good, and well deserved the praises that were showered upon
her.
One day the king called this favourite daughter to the royal bedside,
for he felt that the hour of death was drawing near. Kwan-yin kowtowed
before her royal father, kneeling and touching her forehead on the floor
in sign of deepest reverence. The old man bade her rise and come closer.
Taking her hand tenderly in his own, he said, "Daughter, you know well
how I love you. Your modesty and virtue, your talent and your love of
knowledge, have made you first in my heart. As you know already, I chose
you as heir to my kingdom long ago. I promised that your husband should
be made ruler in my stead. The time is almost ripe for me to ascend upon
the dragon and become a guest on high. It is necessary that you be given
at once in marriage."
"But, most exalted father," faltered the princess, "I am not ready to be
married."
"Not ready, child! Why, are you not eighteen? Are not the daughters of
our nation often wedded long before they reach that age? Because of your
desire for learning I have spared you thus far from any thought of a
husband, but now we can wait no longer."
"Royal father, hear your child, and do not compel her to give up her
dearest pleasures. Let her go into a quiet convent where she may lead
a life of study!"
The king sighed deeply at hearing these words. He loved his daughter and
did not wish to wound her. "Kwan-yin," he continued, "do you wish to
pass by the green spring of youth, to give up this mighty kingdom? Do
you wish to enter the doors of a convent where women say farewell to
life and all its pleasures? No! your father will not permit this. It
grieves me sorely to disappoint you, but one month from this very day
you shall be married. I have chosen for your royal partner a man of many
noble parts. You know him by name already, although you have not seen
him. Remember that, of the hundred virtues filial conduct is the chief,
and that you owe more to me than to all else on earth."
Kwan-yin turned pale. Trembling, she would have sunk to the floor, but
her mother and sisters supported her, and by their tender care brought
her back to consciousness.
Every day of the month that followed, Kwan-yin's relatives begged her to
give up what they called her foolish notion. Her sisters had long since
given up hope of becoming queen. They were amazed at her stupidity. The
very thought of any one's choosing a convent instead of a throne was to
them a sure sign of madness. Over and over again they asked her reason
for making so strange a choice. To every question, she shook her head,
replying, "A voice from the heavens speaks to me, and I must obey it."
On the eve of the wedding day Kwan-yin slipped out of the palace, and,
after a weary journey, arrived at a convent called, "The Cloister of the
White Sparrow." She was dressed as a poor maiden. She said she wished to
become a nun. The abbess, not knowing who she was, did not receive her
kindly. Indeed, she told Kwan-yin that they could not receive her into
the sisterhood, that the building was full. Finally, after Kwan-yin had
shed many tears, the abbess let her enter, but only as a sort of
servant, who might be cast out for the slightest fault.
Now that Kwan-yin found herself in the life which she had long dreamt
of leading, she tried to be satisfied. But the nuns seemed to wish to
make her stay among them most miserable. They gave her the hardest tasks
to do, and it was seldom that she had a minute to rest. All day long
she was busy, carrying water from a well at the foot of the convent hill
or gathering wood from a neighbouring forest. At night when her back
was almost breaking, she was given many extra tasks, enough to have
crushed the spirit of any other woman than this brave daughter of
a king. Forgetting her grief, and trying to hide the lines of pain
that sometimes wrinkled her fair forehead, she tried to make these
hard-hearted women love her. In return for their rough words, she
spoke to them kindly, and never did she give way to anger.
One day while poor Kwan-yin was picking up brushwood in the forest she
heard a tiger making his way through the bushes. Having no means of
defending herself, she breathed a silent prayer to the gods for help,
and calmly awaited the coming of the great beast. To her surprise, when
the bloodthirsty animal appeared, instead of bounding up to tear her in
pieces, he began to make a soft purring noise. He did not try to hurt
Kwan-yin, but rubbed against her in a friendly manner, and let her pat
him on the head.
[Illustration: "ALL DAY SHE WAS BUSY CARRYING WATER."]
The next day the princess went back to the same spot. There she found
no fewer than a dozen savage beasts working under the command of the
friendly tiger, gathering wood for her. In a short time enough brush and
firewood had been piled up to last the convent for six months. Thus,
even the wild animals of the forest were better able to judge of her
goodness than the women of the sisterhood.
At another time when Kwan-yin was toiling up the hill for the twentieth
time, carrying two great pails of water on a pole, an enormous dragon
faced her in the road. Now, in China, the dragon is sacred, and Kwan-yin
was not at all frightened, for she knew that she had done no wrong.
The animal looked at her for a moment, switched its horrid tail, and
shot out fire from its nostrils. Then, dashing the burden from the
startled maiden's shoulder, it vanished. Full of fear, Kwan-yin hurried
up the hill to the nunnery. As she drew near the inner court, she was
amazed to see in the centre of the open space a new building of solid
stone. It had sprung up by magic since her last journey down the hill.
On going forward, she saw that there were four arched doorways to the
fairy house. Above the door facing west was a tablet with these words
written on it: "In honour of Kwan-yin, the faithful princess." Inside
was a well of the purest water, while, for drawing this water, there a
strange machine, the like of which neither Kwan-yin nor the nuns had
ever seen.
The sisters knew that this magic well was a monument to Kwan-yin's
goodness. For a few days they treated her much better. "Since the gods
have dug a well at our very gate," they said, "this girl will no longer
need to bear water from the foot of the hill. For what strange reason,
however, did the gods write this beggar's name on the stone?"
Kwan-yin heard their unkind remarks in silence. She could have explained
the meaning of the dragon's gift, but she chose to let her companions
remain in ignorance. At last the selfish nuns began to grow careless
again, and treated her even worse than before. They could not bear to
see the poor girl enjoy a moment's idleness.
"This is a place for work," they told her. "All of us have laboured hard
to win our present station. You must do likewise." So they robbed her of
every chance for study and prayer, and gave her no credit for the magic
well.
One night the sisters were awakened from their sleep by strange noises,
and soon they heard outside the walls of the compound the blare of a
trumpet. A great army had been sent by Kwan-yin's father to attack the
convent, for his spies had at last been able to trace the runaway
princess to this holy retreat.
"Oh, who has brought this woe upon us?" exclaimed all the women, looking
at each other in great fear. "Who has done this great evil? There is one
among us who has sinned most terribly, and now the gods are about to
destroy us." They gazed at one another, but no one thought of Kwan-yin,
for they did not believe her of enough importance to attract the anger
of heaven, even though she might have done the most shocking of deeds.
Then, too, she had been so meek and lowly while in their holy order that
they did not once dream of charging her with any crime.
The threatening sounds outside grew louder and louder. All at once a
fearful cry arose among the women: "They are about to burn our sacred
dwelling." Smoke was rising just beyond the enclosure where the soldiers
were kindling a great fire, the heat of which would soon be great enough
to make the convent walls crumble into dust.
Suddenly a voice was heard above the tumult of the weeping sisters:
"Alas! I am the cause of all this trouble."
The nuns, turning in amazement, saw that it was Kwan-yin who was
speaking. "You?" they exclaimed, astounded.
"Yes, I, for I am indeed the daughter of a king. My father did not wish
me to take the vows of this holy order. I fled from the palace. He has
sent his army here to burn these buildings and to drag me back a
prisoner."
"Then, see what you have brought upon us, miserable girl!" exclaimed the
abbess. "See how you have repaid our kindness! Our buildings will be
burned above our heads! How wretched you have made us! May heaven's
curses rest upon you!"
"No, no!" exclaimed Kwan-yin, springing up, and trying to keep the
abbess from speaking these frightful words. "You have no right to say
that, for I am innocent of evil. But, wait! You shall soon see whose
prayers the gods will answer, yours or mine!" So saying, she pressed her
forehead to the floor, praying the almighty powers to save the convent
and the sisters.
Outside the crackling of the greedy flames could already be heard. The
fire king would soon destroy every building on that hill-top. Mad with
terror, the sisters prepared to leave the compound and give up all their
belongings to the cruel flames and still more cruel soldiers. Kwan-yin
alone remained in the room, praying earnestly for help.
Suddenly a soft breeze sprang up from the neighbouring forest, dark
clouds gathered overhead, and, although it was the dry season a
drenching shower descended on the flames. Within five minutes the fire
was put out and the convent was saved. Just as the shivering nuns were
thanking Kwan-yin for the divine help she had brought them, two soldiers
who had scaled the outer wall of the compound came in and roughly asked
for the princess.
The trembling girl, knowing that these men were obeying her father's
orders, poured out a prayer to the gods, and straightway made herself
known. They dragged her from the presence of the nuns who had just begun
to love her. Thus disgraced before her father's army, she was taken to
the capital.
On the morrow, she was led before the old king. The father gazed sadly
at his daughter, and then the stern look of a judge hardened his face as
he beckoned the guards to bring her forward.
From a neighbouring room came the sounds of sweet music. A feast was
being served there amid great splendour. The loud laughter of the guests
reached the ears of the young girl as she bowed in disgrace before her
father's throne. She knew that this feast had been prepared for her, and
that her father was willing to give her one more chance.
"Girl," said the king, at last regaining his voice, "in leaving the
royal palace on the eve of your wedding day, not only did you insult
your father, but your king. For this act you deserve to die. However,
because of the excellent record you had made for yourself before you ran
away, I have decided to give you one more chance to redeem yourself.
Refuse me, and the penalty is death: obey me, and all may yet be
well--the kingdom that you spurned is still yours for the asking. All
that I require is your marriage to the man whom I have chosen."
"And when, most august King, would you have me decide?" asked Kwan-yin
earnestly.
"This very day, this very hour, this very moment," he answered sternly.
"What! would you hesitate between love upon a throne and death? Speak,
my daughter, tell me that you love me and will do my bidding!"
It was now all that Kwan-yin could do to keep from throwing herself at
her father's feet and yielding to his wishes, not because he offered her
a kingdom, but because she loved him and would gladly have made him
happy. But her strong will kept her from relenting. No power on earth
could have stayed her from doing what she thought her duty.
"Beloved father," she answered sadly, and her voice was full of
tenderness, "it is not a question of my love for you--of that there is
no question, for all my life I have shown it in every action. Believe
me, if I were free to do your bidding, gladly would I make you happy,
but a voice from the gods has spoken, has commanded that I remain a
virgin, that I devote my life to deeds of mercy. When heaven itself has
commanded, what can even a princess do but listen to that power which
rules the earth?"
The old king was far from satisfied with Kwan-yin's answer. He grew
furious, his thin wrinkled skin turned purple as the hot blood rose to
his head. "Then you refuse to do my bidding! Take her, men! Give to her
the death that is due to a traitor to the king!" As they bore Kwan-yin
away from his presence the white-haired monarch fell, swooning, from his
chair.
That night, when Kwan-yin was put to death, she descended into the lower
world of torture. No sooner had she set foot in that dark country of the
dead than the vast region of endless punishment suddenly blossomed forth
and became like the gardens of Paradise. Pure white lilies sprang up on
every side, and the odour of a million flowers filled all the rooms and
corridors. King Yama, ruler of the dominion, rushed forth to learn the
cause of this wonderful change. No sooner did his eyes rest upon the
fair young face of Kwan-yin than he saw in her the emblem of a purity
which deserved no home but heaven.
"Beautiful virgin, doer of many mercies," he began, after addressing
her by her title, "I beg you in the name of justice to depart from this
bloody kingdom. It is not right that the fairest flower of heaven should
enter and shed her fragrance in these halls. Guilt must suffer here, and
sin find no reward. Depart thou, then, from my dominion. The peach of
immortal life shall be bestowed upon you, and heaven alone shall be your
dwelling place."
Thus Kwan-yin became the Goddess of Mercy; thus she entered into that
glad abode, surpassing all earthly kings and queens. And ever since that
time, on account of her exceeding goodness, thousands of poor people
breathe out to her each year their prayers for mercy. There is no fear
in their gaze as they look at her beautiful image, for their eyes are
filled with tears of love.
